What does it take to lead people in high-stakes, private-equity-backed environments, where efficiency matters, managers are underprepared, and AI is reshaping how work gets done?

In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, Kelly Oliver, a veteran HR and business leader whose career spans leadership roles at Microsoft, Oracle, HP, Salesforce, and most recently as Head of HR at a PE-backed cybersecurity company.

In this episode we explore:

• Why scaling efficiently now requires HR to understand how the business makes money
• Why most managers are unprepared for today’s environment, and what effective manager enablement looks like
• How HR can use data, QBRs, and performance visibility to influence executive decisions
• Why AI should live behind the scenes, not between people, and how HR must lead AI strategy without losing the human connection
• What it means to “be better than a bot” in an AI-driven workplace

This is a practical, executive-level conversation for HR leaders navigating growth, profitability pressure, and rising expectations from boards and PE sponsors.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 | Intro: Leading HR in PE-Backed, High-Pressure Environments
• 01:58 | Meet Kelly Oliver: From Engineering to Head of HR.
• 04:00 | The Real Question: How Do You Scale an Organization Efficiently?
• 06:07 | Why Everything Is Now a 90-Day Window
• 08:56 | HR’s Role in Revenue-Driven Execution
• 11:35 | Performance Heat Maps and HR’s Early Warning Signals
• 12:31 | Why Every HR Team Should Run a QBR
• 17:56 | Managers Are Unprepared & Here’s Why
• 19:28 | Manager 101: What Leaders Actually Need to Learn
• 21:36 | Managing the “What” vs. the “How”
• 27:27 | How AI Is Already Changing the Manager Role
• 29:08 | Where AI Belongs: Back-End Efficiency, Not Front-Line Humans
• 32:14 | Why HR Must Be Central to AI Strategy
• 35:02 | AI Literacy for HR Leaders: Lean In or Fall Behind
• 38:02 | Human Connection Still Matters More Than Ever
• 40:46 | Final Challenge: Be Better Than a Bot

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/k-oliver/

Good Signs Consulting: http://goodsignsconsulting.com/

HRBench: https://www.hrbench.com/

AI is reshaping how we work, and HR should be at the forefront.

In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we sit down with Kristin McDonald, a veteran HR tech strategist and self-proclaimed “HR tech nerd,” to unpack what it means for HR to lead in the age of AI.

Kristin shares:

• Why AI literacy is now table stakes for HR leaders

• How to build an AI roadmap that drives business value

• What traps to avoid during tech implementations

• How to evaluate AI vendors (and when to build vs. buy)

• The role HR plays in AI governance, data readiness, and org-wide enablement

Whether your exec team is pushing AI adoption or you’re simply trying to modernize your HR tech stack, this conversation will give you the clarity and confidence to lead from the front.

Chapters

• 00:00 | Intro: Why AI in HR is a Strategic Imperative
• 01:39 | Meet Kristin: A Self-Proclaimed HR Tech Nerd
• 02:11 | AI Overload: Trends, Buzzwords & Real Questions
• 04:05 | Strategic Tech Stacks: It’s Not About the Shiny Tools
• 06:32 | Before You Buy: The Internal Questions HR Must Ask
• 08:54 | Integrations & IT: Don’t Buy Without These Partners
• 10:25 | Point Solution vs. All-In-One: What Actually Works
• 13:12 | Implementation Pitfalls: What HR Gets Wrong
• 17:12 | Where Should HR Tech Live, IT or HR?
• 21:07 | The Case for a Single AI Agent Experience
• 22:12 | Why HR Must Lead AI Adoption (and How to Start)
• 27:57 | How to Become AI Literate as an HR Leader
• 30:24 | Getting a Seat at the AI Table: HR’s Influence Playbook
• 35:43 | How to Build an AI Roadmap That Actually Works
• 38:15 | Quick Wins vs. Long-Term AI Strategy
• 39:42 | AI Governance: The Hot Topic No One Wants to Own
• 42:18 | Final Advice: Learn Together, Lead with Confidence

Connect with Kristin McDonald on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinmcdonald1/

What if the performance issues you’re seeing are really signs of trauma?

In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, Dr. John King shares his powerful story, from surviving childhood trafficking and losing everything at age 45, to building a framework for growth, healing, and leadership in high-performance environments.

This isn’t just John’s personal story. It’s a roadmap for HR.

We explore:

• Why trauma isn’t just something that happens to you, it lives in you

• Small physiological shifts that can spark recovery and performance: from cold showers to grounding mats

• The “second question” leaders must ask to build trust and safety

• How HR can walk with employees through life’s hardest seasons, and why doing so drives long-term loyalty and growth

If you want to create a workplace that supports growth, this conversation is your starting point.

Episode chapters:

• 00:00 | Intro: Dr. John King’s Turning Point at Age 45
• 04:33 | It Started with a Snickers Bar: The Moment He Realized Trauma Lives in the Body
• 07:03 | Tree Hugging, Sunlight & Cold Showers: Tools from the Trauma Toolbox
• 10:30 | The 1% Rule: Why Micro-Habits Matter More Than Big Fixes
• 13:24 | Daily Tactics for Leaders: Helping Teams Stay Clear, Calm, and Productive
• 15:50 | Culture vs. Policy: How to Build a Trauma-Aware Workplace That Works
• 18:07 | Grace in Action: Authentic Leadership, Missed Meetings, and Halloween Costumes
• 20:04 | The Authenticity Check: When to Call It Out and When to Coach Through
• 23:02 | Late Shifts and Childcare: What HR Misses When We Don’t Ask “Why?”
• 25:12 | Walking with the Wounded: Supporting Grief, Divorce, and Life’s Disruptions
• 29:31 | Trading Health for Hustle: Why HR Must Help Teams Re-Evaluate Success
• 32:04 | Choosing Authenticity Over Gordon Gekko: A Lesson in Self-Awareness
• 33:05 | Soft Skills Aren’t Soft: Why HR Needs More Training in Human Tools
• 35:53 | Care for the Caregivers: The Hidden Burnout Inside HR
• 36:56 | Final Word: You Can’t Heal What You Ignore

🔗 Connect with Dr. John A. King on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohnaking/

🔗 Visit Dr. John A. King’s website: https://drjohnaking.com/

🔗 Learn more at HRBench.com

In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we sit down with Stacie Baird, Chief People Officer at Community Medical Services, to talk about the early warning signs of burnout, and what HR can do before it turns into turnover.

With over 30 years of experience in high-growth, PE-backed organizations, Stacie shares how CMS has built a proactive strategy around burnout, engagement, and retention.

Reducing turnover by 27% in the process.

You’ll learn:

• What burnout looks like in HR

• How to use pulse surveys to track burnout symptoms in real time

• What “vicarious trauma” means and how to create space for recovery

• Why CMS built a “Good Job Score” to align values with engagement

• How to use data and empathy to influence the C-suite

Episode chapters:

• 00:00 | Welcome to the live episode with Stacie Baird
• 01:27 | Meet Stacie: 30 years in HR, trauma-informed, PE-backed leader
• 03:57 | What burnout looks like in HR teams and how to spot it
• 06:03 | Understanding vicarious trauma and emotional load in HR
• 09:36 | Creating space for recovery in high-pressure environments
• 12:18 | Using pulse surveys to measure burnout symptoms in real time
• 14:48 | Role-based engagement data and tagging events to track impact
• 17:00 | The “Good Job Score”: Aligning values, leadership, and feedback
• 20:06 | CMS’s turnover pilot: Identifying early exits and fixing onboarding gaps
• 24:42 | Real-time dashboards + data stories during exec meetings
• 27:58 | How to communicate data with empathy and influence leadership
• 32:21 | Self-regulation and care for HR leaders: “You can’t pour from an empty cup”
• 33:03 | Getting higher participation in engagement surveys
• 34:34 | Communication strategy across 80 locations
• 37:04 | Predictive analytics at CMS and building trust in the data
• 38:31 | Final thoughts + why CMS calls HRBench their top vendor

If you’re an HR leader trying to stay ahead of burnout, disengagement, and early exit, tune into this episode.

🔗 Connect with Stacie Baird: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staciebaird/

🔗 Check out the HX Podcast: https://staciebaird.com/the-hx-podcast
🔗 Learn more at: hrbench.com

What happens when you lead with culture and back it up with real-time workforce data?

In this episode, Kevin Trowbridge, Director of Compensation at Kimray, a 75-year-old manufacturing company that’s rewriting what modern HR looks like. From starting every hiring process with a culture-fit interview to implementing job families that re-energized frontline engagement, Kimray is a case study in values-led, data-powered HR.

You’ll hear how they’ve achieved a 3.5% turnover rate, built internal mobility into their compensation structure, and used HRBench to empower leaders across the business. All without hiring a dedicated analytics team.

If you care about retention, workforce planning, or tying HR to EBITDA, this one’s for you.

We discussed:

• 00:00 | Intro: Culture, Retention, and Data at Kimray
• 02:08 | Why Kimray Leads With Culture in Every Decision
• 04:00 | Recovery-Friendly Workplaces and Community Impact
• 05:14 | The Culture Fit Interview Comes First
• 06:31 | Why Employees Stay: 3.5% Voluntary Turnover
• 07:45 | Pay Transparency and Career Pathing on the Frontline
• 09:38 | Building a Flexible, Cross-Skilled Workforce
• 10:46 | Retention Through Recognition and Tribal Knowledge
• 12:30 | Competing for Talent in a Tough Labor Market
• 13:48 | From Culture to Data: Linking HR to Business Value
• 14:31 | Real-Time Turnover + Engagement Insights with HRBench
• 19:52 | How Data Access Changed the HR Team’s Mindset
• 21:49 | Expanding Access to the C-Suite and VP Level
• 24:23 | Ending Advice: Tell the Story Behind the Numbers

Connect with Kevin on Linkedin.

Build your own custom people analytics dashboard at ⁠HRBench⁠.

How should HR leaders show up in high-growth, PE-backed companies?

In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we unpack the HR playbook for private equity environments with seasoned HR leader Nicole Logue.

Nicole shares lessons from operating across the entire PE lifecycle, from pre-acquisition to exit, and how HR can lead through each phase.

We discuss:

• How HR can learn how the business makes money (and why it matters)

• What your role should look like at each stage of the business

• How to get involved in, and influence, the PE value creation plan

Whether you’re navigating your first deal or scaling through your third, this episode will help you become a sharper, more strategic HR leader in a PE-backed business.

Chapters:

• 00:00 | Intro: What This Episode Covers
• 02:25 | Why high-growth environments are a playground for HR
• 04:46 | How HR can learn how the business makes money
• 10:25 | Building strategic partnerships w/ finance, sales, and beyond
• 17:27 | HR’s role across the PE lifecycle: Pre-acq, post-acq, and exit
• 25:57 | Aligning people strategy to the market play
• 27:25 | PE timelines: Quick flips vs. long holds
• 31:26 | PE Value Creation Plan
• 33:07 | How HR leaders can get invited into strategic conversations
• 35:20 | Final advice: Learn fast by being willing to be wrong
• 37:30 | Closing

🔗 Connect with Nicole Logue on LinkedIn.

Build your own custom people analytics dashboard at HRBench.

What does it take to turn HR data into decisions?

In this episode of Pulse, we sit down with Courtney Brown, HR Analyst, to break down how she uses data to drive action across the employee lifecycle. From recruiting to onboarding and engagement surveys.

Courtney shares how her early career in the CFO’s office shaped her mindset toward data integrity and decision-making, how she helped build a survey system for the entire UC system, and how she now uses onboarding checklists and hiring metrics to help managers improve their processes.

Whether you’re building your first HR dashboard or trying to boost your survey response rates, this episode is packed with tactical insights for HR teams looking to connect people data to business strategy.

Everything we discuss in the episode:

• 00:00 - Intro: Bridging HR and finance through data with Courtney Brown
• 02:40 - What the CFO’s office taught Courtney about strategic data thinking
• 05:19 - Data integrity, storytelling, and the executive lens
• 07:58 - Survey design 101: Start with the decision you want to drive
• 10:39 - Boosting survey response rates by respecting employees’ time
• 13:18 - Communicating the why behind a survey builds trust and participation
• 14:18 - Scaling survey systems from UC to Oracle — templates, pulse checks, and trust
• 17:38 - Can AI design your surveys? Courtney’s perspective on balancing tech and human touch
• 18:21 - Using data to improve onboarding: checklists, feedback, and first-week productivity
• 21:14 - How qualitative signals help assess alignment and retention

🔗 Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn.

🎧 Powered by HRBench: the people analytics platform built for executive decision-making.

In this episode of Pulse, I speak with Alex Thompson, SHRM-CP and get his insights for making your work visible, trusted, and strategic.

Alex has sat on both sides of the table, first as an HRBench customer, and now as an Implementation Manager. This provides a unique perspective, as he gets to speak with a lot of HR teams to understand what are successful strategies in the current environment.

In this episode, we explore how to:

• Building trust with executives using consistent, defensible HR data

• Employee survey designs that drives change

• Supporting frontline workers when they don’t sit at a desk

• Pairing anecdotal insights with metrics to manage up effectively

• Using HR data to drive better boardroom conversations and QBRs

Whether you’re building out your first people analytics program or looking to level up how you deliver HR insights to leadership, this conversation has strategies and tactics you can use today.

Episode discussion:

• 00:00 - Welcome + Episode Preview
• 01:18 - HRIS Implementation: What Most People Miss
• 03:34 - Managing Up: How to Get Execs to Trust HR
• 06:23 - Communicating Insight: Beyond Just “Here’s the Data”
• 10:06 - Turnover + Culture Fit: Spotting Root Causes in the Data
• 12:54 - Engagement Surveys: How to Avoid Fatigue and Inaction
• 15:25 - Survey Delivery for Frontline Workers: What Actually Works
• 19:03 - Field Managers + Feedback: Breaking the Bottleneck
• 22:30 - Final Advice: QBRs, Boardroom-Ready HR, and Getting Started

Connect with Alex Thompson on LinkedIn.

👉 Learn more at HRBench.com